


Catching Up

by LazlosLulls



Series: Another Palette [2]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, By Extension:, Gen, dark kingdom eugene, dark kingdom lance, eugene backstory!!!, eugene failed his perception check, lance Knows but he's playing along like he does, or he's just fooling himself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23075551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazlosLulls/pseuds/LazlosLulls
Summary: Eugene doesn't like to think about his past. Until an old friend returns and they have nothing but the past.(Lance and Eugene's offscreen talk from chapter 4 of the main story)
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Lance Strongbow, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel
Series: Another Palette [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1658380
Kudos: 19





	Catching Up

**Catching Up**

Once upon a time, there was a kid named Eugene Fitzherbert. He didn’t really like the name. He didn’t really like the fact he was left at an orphanage that was often overfilled and understaffed. He didn’t like there were birds everywhere he went.

What he did like, was his best friend Arnwaldo. He liked goofing off with him. He liked reading The Tales of Flynnigan Rider to him and the other kids.

Then Eugene got an idea. Flynn Rider was so great, he’d go out and take the name and become the greatest thief of all time! Arnwaldo was right by his side, making a new name, Lance Strongbow. They ran rampant all across the Seven Kingdoms, stealing whatever struck their fancy.

Then Lance got caught.

The illusion cracked. No longer would he have his partner with him, to make the jokes, to share the bounty and the stories. Flynn tried to continue on, but the world was colder without his friend. He started to look for warmth, in terrible jokes, in well-loved books, and small kindnesses.

So when the Stabbington brothers approached him for a job, he didn’t see the payout. He saw a grieving family treasuring the last thing they had left of their child.

So he refused.

Flynn was lucky he escaped their wrath that night.

Flynn was also lucky, that soon after, the Stabbingtons were arrested for the failed theft of the crown. That Royal Family had suddenly become much more lenient, allowing criminals a second chance. He was lucky all of his wanted posters had very bad depictions of his nose, so no one would suspect he was ever Flynn Rider. That people would just _believe_ this handsome mug had the name “Eugene Fitzherbert” attached to it.

Right…

But the absolute best stroke of luck, is that he ran into the one handmaiden who wanted to help everyone. Rapunzel. That bright ray of sunshine that never gave up him.

Eugene always knew that his luck was going to run out one day. That day, is when he saw Lance again, casually talking with the one person who he never wanted to know about his criminal past. Eugene sped past Rapunzel, practically dragging his old friend away from her.

Once they were a good distance away (three hallways down, a locked room that had access to the outside very easily) he looked at his old friend. Lance had grown, but he could still see echoes of his childhood, here and there. The words were on his tongue, “how are you, what have you been up to lately, ~~I’m so sorry~~ ” but his mouth opened up and he said:

“How did you know I was here?”

“Oh, I stopped at the Snuggly Duckling. Got a full update!” Lance smiled wide. “I can't believe you snuck your way into Corona! Land of the death penalty! Thieves beware! What are you gonna do next?"

Eugene gulped, neck feeling tight. He shook his head, "Nothing. This is not sneaking. It's an honest life. And if you even think about stealing something and ruining it for everyone-"

Lance crossed his arms, "I told the Princess the truth."

Eugene paused, mind stopping. "Princess?” he repeated, trying to figure out where he saw the Princess. “That was just Rapunzel." That was _just like Lance_ , he’s been here for five minutes and he meets that mysterious Princess Eugene hasn’t even heard the name of yet.

Lance squinted, brows furrowing. "Did you miss the mural?"

Why would he bring that up? "That's a bunch of pottery shards of a _baby_!” He flung his hands up, “Who knows what she looks like now?" 

"But the Princess won the Contest of Champions." Lance said. Did his mouth twitch in a smile?

Eugene rubbed his temples. Why was he stuck on this? "But she gave it to her Handmaiden. Cassandra, probably, girl _loves_ her weaponry. Rapunzel has told me she’s. Just. A. Handmaiden.” And she’s a good person, and he should believe her.

His friend nodded, "Mmm hmm. She's _very_ insistent about that?" Lance pressed again.

Wow, Lance really did know him well enough to know he’d think about it. Eugene sighed. He leaned against the door, looking down. "What would a Princess want to do with me? Even if I was actually a writer..."

"You'd be surprised." Lance gently elbowed him, and the familiar gesture brought warmth to his heart. "So you're in a bonafide Castle lying your hot cross buns off and you have _no_ plan?" he said, proud.

That sounds _really_ bad when he put it that way. But Eugene squared his shoulders, looking his friend dead in the eyes. "That's about right." Lance could leave now, he didn’t ask to be dragged into this. It should be his choice if he wanted to stay and stop thieving. Eugene would just have to make peace with what he chooses.

His old partner shrugged, grinning ear to ear. "Well, there must be something to it. I'll join you on this side of the law." 

Eugene let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Great, buddy!”

"It's just, one little thing I gotta do first." He pulled out a ring. "We stole this from Arianna back when she was an upstart noblewoman. It was the last of the stash I had, aside from the stuff from Baron. He always had too much anyway. Only fair."

Eugene caught himself nodding. Baron was a notorious hoarder, it always rubbed him the wrong way. "Alright, so why do you still have the ring? She probably knows she won’t see it again, you could have donated that. Now it’s hot loot again." It should have worried him that he was using his old thieving language. It didn't, it just felt like a comfortable old jacket he slipped back into.

"I know, and I was really inspired by the way you're doing good things with yourself.” Lance put a hand to his chest. “But I can't just hand it back. There'd be all these questions and accusations.” He scrunched up his shoulders, frowning. “And the new Lance is _not_ about that."

"No kidding." Eugene dryly replied.

"What I was thinking...Ever want to be like Santa Claus?" Lance looked at him, with his sparkling brown eyes, full of adventure and promise. Just like the old days.

He always had soft spot for Lance.

-

**Notes:**

And we have a Eugene snippet!


End file.
